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. 2015 Aug;7(8):1358–1372. doi: 10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2015.07.28

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Starling resistor model of the upper airway: (A) A collapsible segment is bordered by rigid upstream (nasal passages) and downstream (trachea) segments. These rigid segments are characterized by intraluminal pressures (PUS and PDS in the upstream and downstream segments, respectively) and resistance to airflow (RUS and RDS, respectively); (B) when PUS and PDS are less than PCRIT, the airway is closed; (C) when PUS is greater than PCRIT, but PDS falls below PCRIT, the airway becomes flow limited on inspiration and can rapidly cycle between an open and closed state; (D) when both PUS and PDS remain above PCRIT, the airway is patent. Adapted from Gleadhill et al. 1991 (25).